Patriots and Jets get little preparation for division clash

Wednesday

Sep 11, 2013 at 10:48 PM

By Rich Garven, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

The unexpected has been an all-too-familiar element during the Border War. The 109th meeting between the Patriots and New York (ugh) Jets tonight at Gillette Stadium is shaping up to be more of the same.

For starters, the two AFC East rivals will take the field having had just three days to prepare for their second game of the season. That essentially eliminated the physical element of practice as both coaches gave their players' bodies an opportunity to recover, with the emphasis on mastering the game plan.

But because it's only Week 1½ and the film each team studied of the other primarily consisted of four vanilla preseason games and the season-opener Sunday, the expectation is plenty of unanticipated changes will take place on the sideline as the nationally televised game unfolds.

"Your game plan is you see what they did in the preseason and in the first game and you try and anticipate some of the things they're going to try to focus on," linebacker Rob Ninkovich said. "You go out there and try to stop those things and whatever they change throughout the game that you're not prepared for you say, 'OK, this is what's going on,' and you adjust on the fly. That's one thing about the NFL: You have to be able to adapt very quickly."

The team that adjusts the best over 60 (or more) minutes stands a good chance of improving to 2-0 and remaining in first place in the division while substantially improving its odds of making the playoffs. Teams that have won their first two games have gone on to reach the playoffs close to 60 percent of the time over the past decade.

That would seem to favor the Patriots as coach Bill Belichick ranks among the league's elite at making in-game adjustments.

However, his New York counterpart has a well-deserved reputation for devising defensive schemes that are difficult to solve. Tom Brady does have an 18-5 record as a starter versus the Jets, but three of those losses have come against Rex Ryan-coached teams.

And there is much uncertainty at the skill positions for the Patriots.

Running backs Shane Vereen (broken wrist) and Stevan Ridley (butter fingers) both have bad handles. Vereen has been ruled out, so Ridley will return to the backfield by default — although for how long remains to be seen.

"We've got a lot of good players in the locker room," he said. "When people are injured, that's why you have a deep roster. Guys that you have confidence in, that you've gained trust in, and I certainly have that at the skill position.

"We have a lot of good running backs, we have a lot of good receivers, we're trying to do the best we can this week to go out and win a very challenging game against a very good team."

The Jets will provide the New England defense with an unknown challenge in the form of Geno Smith. The rookie joins Buffalo's EJ Manuel as the latest in a line of increasingly popular professional quarterbacks who have big arms and fast feet.

The 6-foot-3, 221-pound Smith passed for 250 yards and rushed for a team-high 47 yards while guiding the Jets to a last-second, one-point win over Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Smith was also sacked five times as the Bucs did a decent job of trapping him in the pocket. That's the Patriots' preference as well.

The key is patience despite having roughly three seconds to beat your man and bring down a player capable of sprinting 40 yards in just over four seconds.

"Pocket quarterbacks who don't have the ability to scramble, you can kind of get off the ball and run to a point," Ninkovich said. "But with guys who can scramble, you have to be smarter and not just run past them because they can step up and scramble for 15 or 20 yards.

"Having some experience with guys who can scramble you can't be as aggressive with your pass rush unless you win instantly. When you have the one-on-one battles, you have to make sure you have the clean win."

This is shaping up to be a tussle with plenty of twists and turns, but in the end, the Patriots emerge with a clean record and their fifth straight win in the series.